Another soup beauty!
This soup has a very unexpected ingredient—Jerusalem artichokes.
What the heck are Jerusalem artichokes?
Are they even artichokes at all?
According to Harold McGee’s definitive book On Food and Cooking the Jerusalem artichoke is sometimes called a sunchoke or an earth apple. It is a sweet and crunchy non-fibrous tuber of a North American sunflower. (Who knew?)
And, no, the tuber is not related to the artichoke at all. You may notice from the photo below, that a Jerusalem artichoke is a dead ringer for fresh ginger. So…be careful to buy the right root if you make this soup! My local groceries often stock Jerusalem artichokes in the specialty section of the produce counter.
This recipe is from the cookbook Soup for Syria. You can order the book through your local bookstore or on Amazon here.
Here is the soup recipe as I prepared it in my kitchen.
Jerusalem Artichoke Soup
Ingredients
- 2 T. olive oil
- 1 medium onion (chopped)
- 1 pound Jerusalem antichokes (peeled and cubed)
- 1 medium sweet potato (peeled and cubed)
- 3 C. vegetable stock
- 1 leek (trimmed and chopped)
- Zest and juice of one lemon
- 1 sprig fresh thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 C. cream
- Salt, pepper and grated nutmeg to taste
- Garnish with chopped green onion or fresh cilantro and a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil
Directions
- Step 1 Saute chopped onions in olive oil for 2-3 minutes until they begin to soften. Add sweet potato and Jerusalem artichoke cubes and continue to saute for several more minutes.
- Step 2 Add vegetable stock, chopped leek, lemon zest, thyme and bay leaf to the artichoke mixture. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer (covered) for about 30 minutes. You want all of the vegetables to be very tender.
- Step 3 Discard thyme and bay leaf.
- Step 4 Let soup cool a bit off the heat. Puree.
- Step 5 Return soup to stovetop and reheat. Add lemon juice and cream to soup. Stir in pepper, salt and nutmeg.
- Step 6 Garnish with chopped onion and a drizzle of your best extra virgin olive oil.
- Step 7 Cook’s Note: This delicious soup is definitely at it best on the second or third day after it is made when the flavors of the vegetables have had time to mature..
